Freeky

runing the last section of this amazing canyon

Time for our next one, this time it was another classic, Lågen river and its Rusty (I like to call it like that) canyon. We put-in at medium to high water this time, which made things to look very different from last year. As soon as you put in you will start with a nice grade III section to warm up, and not far from there you will have the first big one, which was looking like a big monster at that water level, with two main possibilities: a left line, just avoiding the biggest $%”#$# or right in the middle of it, trying to paddle through a big diagonal first, then a huge crashing wave, to end up by punching a big hole at the bottom….full on!!

Diego runing the left line @ first rapid

Diego went first and took the safe line by the left, then Miguel fired up the center big-balled line and he just did it like a pro, so that gave the rest of us some extra motivation to hit the same line. Silvio took a smooth stroke by the big diagonal and then went into the big stuff….

Miguel showing some southamerican style

So, as I was getting in my kayak to run it I just thought: “that is easier than what I thought!” then, I lined up my kayak to take exactly the same line than Silvio and Miguel, but this time, I went too relaxed to hit that diagonal, so, by the time I went into the big wave I was in the wrong spot….got surfed, and then , into the hole without any speed at all…

Big line, wrong spot!

surfing again, but this time, for quite a long time, though, swimming was not an option, a waterfall (portage at that water level) was waiting for me just about 70 meters from where the hole was playing with me. Luckly I managed to get out from there, and we kept our run going as we enjoyed the rest of the run like kids in a candy-store! Enjoy the pics!

where is the way out of this hole!!!!

El próximo, esta vez era otro clásico, el río Lågen y su cañón rusty (me gusta llamarlo así). Entramos al río con un nivel de agua medio-alto, factor que hizo verlo muy diferente a la última vez que lo corrimos el año pasado. Tan pronto como uno se echa al agua, el río desciende formando un rápido largo y contínuo clase III, un muy buen comienzo para ablandar…

Half the way.....silvio

No muy lejos de terminar con esto, aparece el primer grande, un rápido que hace ver los kayaks de creek como si fueran playboats. Dos posibilidades: tomar línea segura por la izquierda y evadir el mounstruo que había por el centro, o simplemente tomar la línea del centro rompiendo una diagonal, para luego cargar sobre una ola rompiente con mucha fuerza (pero una ventanita en el medio) y luego un hueco bastante cerrado al final….

once you are sure you can´t help it....just padlle hard...

Diego corrió primero, eligiendo la línea de la izquierda, y luego Miguel, quien estaba inspirado, tomó la línea del centro para probar que sí se podía, muy bien! Luego Silvio hizo lo propio y demostró lo que hacen los años de experiencia con su kayak. Cuando me metí en mi kayak pensé “esto es más fácil de lo que esperaba” entonces remé hacia la diagonal con demasiado relax…pum!! La diagonal era muy fuerte! Para cuando pasé la diagonal, me di cuenta que estaba en lugar equivocado, no iba a alcanzar la ventana que me permitiría mantener la velocidad para golpear con fuerza el último hueco; en cambio, después de que me detuvo por completo, me dejó sin fuerza para atacar al hueco, entonces ya se imaginan lo que pasó…

después de una larga surfeada en el hueco, logré salir un poco exhausto pero felíz, ya que si hubiese nadado, muy probablemente el río me hubiese llevado gentilmente hacia el próximo rápido; una cascada que a ese nivel de agua era portaje!!!

Después de esto seguimos remando y disfrutando de este río como niños en una tienda de chocolates!! Disfruten las fotos!

Greig Mccolm running Åmot, our local run

So…..this is a new summer for us working here at the peaceful Sjoa Valley, in the heart of Norway. Myself and my partner Miguel Covarrubias wanted to get some warm up before to start running the big stuff here in Norway. After some runs over our local “homerun” grade IV section called Åmot we were ready to go!

first rapid, Tora river
First mission then was Tora river. A couple of hours driving west from Sjoa you´ll find this piece of white water-nature-art called Tora. This river has a very short and full on section. Slides and drops are coming one after the other, and depending on the water levels, you might have the chance to put in little further upstream and run an amazing combo…

This time we were 6 paddlers, though there was one of our crew who decided not to paddle due to a leg injury he was trying to get heal as soon as possible…..good choice…

Miguel running one of the slides

I think the best rapid in this 800 mts section is the last one which is a long slide, fast and fun!! Tora is a perfect run to do in the beginning of the season, mainly because you will have the chance to scout everything from both banks before you put in, and also because you could portage those rapids you don’t feel ready to run….perfect!!

“Under the bridge”…Martin Vollen
Otro verano comienza en Noruega mientras nosotros nos encontramos aquí en el tranquilo valle de Sjoa, en el corazón de este país increíble. Mi compañero Miguel y yo decidimos entrar en calor antes de comenzar con los “grandes ríos”. Algunas corridas sobre la sección que tenemos aquí cerca de nuestra casa, llamado Åmot y ya estuvimos listos para entrar en acción…

Nuestra primer misión nos llevó a correr un río llamado Tora. Manejamos un par de horas hacia el oeste hasta encontrarnos con esta pieza de arte de la naturaleza llamada Tora. Este río tiene una sección tan corta como intensa. Slides y drops vienen uno atrás de otro, y dependiendo de los niveles de agua, también da la posibilidad de entrar un poco más arriba y correr una combinación increíble.

last rapid…

Esta vez fuimos 6 kayakistas, aunque uno de ellos decidió permanecer afuera, ya que todavía se recupera de una lesión importante en su pierna…buena desición.

Creo que el mejor rápido es el último, una perfecta despedida para esta sección de 800 mts. Tora es una opción perfecta para correr a principio de la temporada, ya que te da la chance de observar todos los rápidos desde ambas orillas antes de meterte al río, y, además da la posibilidad de portear los rápidos que no te gusten…perfecto!!

Hope you like the pics!

Photography by Greig Mccolm

Hi folks! Be welcome to the FreEky media blog, where you can check out updates about kayak missions, new products and more!

Let´s get to know this new thing is called “Freeky”. Whitewater fans and some people dedicated to outdoor sports gear, came out with this idea a couple of years ago. Then, FReeky got into reality. Argentina is a country with loads of whitewater d

estinations, many first

descents to explore, many good athletes in all kind of outdoor sports and fantastic girls (its always good to remember this last thing no matter what!!). This combination brought Freeky into life, being the first Argentinian brand on getting very good quality on their stuff, with the potential of getting expanded as paddlers spread the brand around the globe.

His co-founder, Pablo Gulino, started this dream, and push it into reality, as the local paddlers where happy to know there is an argetninian brand keeping them dry and safe as they run hard stuff.

Now FReeky is ready to move on and be part of the global family called kayakers around the world. Every year, Freeky would come up with better designs, that means, the holy dynamism that leads any company into the good way. With much efford and hours of drawing, cutting, drinking and so on….top quality materials are combined with cool design to bring freeky products to paddlers.

Visit the Freeky website at : www.freekyweb.com.ar and chek out the products. WARNING! The website is still in Spanish, soon there will be an English version available!!

See you all in the river, GO FREEKY, GO ARGENTINA!!!